This invention pertains to a floor stand for mounting an electrical box having a plaster ring. The floor stand permits the electrical box having the plaster ring not only to be horizontally positionable, because the floor stand does not fasten to a stud, but also to be vertically positionable anywhere within a useful range of positions above a floor.
Commonly, an electrical box having a plaster ring defines a generally rectangular cavity, which is bounded by an upper wall, a lower wall, and two lateral walls, each said wall having a distal edge, and by a back wall. The plaster ring, which may be also called a mud ring or a faceplate, defines a generally rectangular frame, which is bounded by an upper member, a lower member, and two lateral members. The plaster ring is fastenable to the electrical box, via fasteners passing through slots in the plaster ring into holes in ears on the electrical box, so that the upper member of the plaster ring is aligned with the distal edge of the upper wall of the electrical box, so that the lower member of the plaster ring is aligned with the distal edge of the lower member of the plaster ring is aligned with the distal edge of the lower wall of the electrical box, and so that each of the lateral members of the plaster ring is aligned with the distal edge of one of the lateral walls of the electrical box.
For mounting an electrical box having a plaster ring, as described above, is has been known to use a floor stand (such as the EZ Floor Stand Box Support, which is available commercially from S-P Products, Inc. of Elk Grove Village, Ill.) to which the electrical box is fastened by fasteners passing through holes in the back wall of the electrical box, into holes selected from series of holes spaced vertically and incrementally along the floor stand, or to which the plaster ring is fastened by fasteners passing through slots or holes in the plaster ring, into holes selected therefrom. The floor stand permits the electrical box having the plaster ring not only to be horizontally positionable, because the floor stand does not fasten to a stud, but also to be vertically positionable at incrementally spaced positions above a floor.
For mounting an electrical box having a plaster ring, as described above, between two studs, its is known to use a mounting bracket defining an elongate frame having an upper member and a lower member and mounting the electrical box having the plaster ring, via fasteners passing between the upper and lower members. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,330,137 and 5,931,425, both to John H. Oliva.
This invention provides a floor stand for mounting an electrical box having a plaster ring, as described above, in an improved manner. The floor stand has two parallel uprights, each having an upper end and a lower end, and has an upper structure bridging the upper ends of the two parallel uprights and a lower structure bridging the lower ends of the parallel uprights. The parallel uprights are positionable between the lateral members of the plaster ring and the distal edges of the lateral walls of the electrical box. Preferably, each of the parallel uprights of the floor stand has an outer, backturned, stiffening flange.
When the plaster ring is fastened to the electrical box, via fasteners passing between the parallel uprights of the floor stand, so that the upper member of the plaster ring is aligned with the distal edge of the upper wall of the electrical box, so that the lower member of the plaster ring is aligned with the distal edge of the lower wall of the electrical box, and so that each of the lateral members of the plaster ring is aligned with the distal edge of one of the lateral walls of the electrical box, the parallel uprights of the floor stand can be thus clamped between the lateral members of the plaster ring and the distal edges of the lateral walls of the electrical box.
This invention also provides a novel combination of an electrical box having a floor stand, as described above, and a floor stand, as provided by this invention. The plaster ring is fastened to the electrical box, via fasteners passing between the parallel uprights, so that the upper member of the plaster ring is aligned with the distal edge of the upper wall of the electrical box, so that the lower member of the plaster ring is aligned with the distal edge of the lower wall of the electrical box, and so that each of the lateral members of the plaster ring is aligned with the distal edge of one of the lateral walls of the electrical box, whereby the parallel uprights of the floor stand are clamped between the lateral members of the plaster ring and the distal edges of the lateral walls of the electrical box.